Printer-Friendly          E-mail this page

Gennao
(From Forerunner Commentary)

Much of the confusion about being "born again" has resulted from misinterpreting the original Greek of the New Testament. With one exception (James 1:15-18), the Greek word used in reference to spiritual begettal and birth—spiritual salvation—is always gennao. This word means both "to conceive" or "to beget," and also "to bear" or "to be born"—all or any part of the whole process which produces a new individual human being; whereas in English we use two separate verbs—"begotten" and "born." Since both begettal and birth are included in the meaning of gennao, we must often let the Bible interpret the Bible to know which meaning is intended in a particular passage. Here are several examples where the Greek word should rightly have been rendered "begotten," not "born": John 1:12-13; I John 2:29; 4:7; 5:1 (three times); I John 5:4. The King James Version is correct by using "begotten" in I Corinthians 4:15; Hebrews 1:5; and I John 5:1. What about the scriptures that call Christ the "only-begotten" (John 1:14, 18; 3:16; I John 4:9)? Do these, after all, disprove the truth that true Christians are only "begotten" of God's Spirit, growing toward being born of God at the resurrection? Of course not. The simple answer is that all these verses are referring to Christ's miraculous begettal in His mother Mary's womb. Christ's physical begettal and birth (gennao) were unique. No other person—ever—has been begotten by the Spirit of the Father in a human mother's womb! In this sense He is—and always shall be—"only-begotten." But many have been "begotten again" (I Peter 1:3) ultimately to become—through the process of spiritual growth and birth—the spirit-born sons of God. What It Means to Be Born Again

John 3:3  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) Some have written that the phrase "born again" in John 3:3 means "born from above." Undoubtedly, they do this to lend credence to their theory that this birth takes place at the time of conversion. The combination of words here is gennao anothen. Anothen can be translated "from above," "again," or "from the first," depending on the context. But notice Nicodemus' understanding of what Jesus said when He said it, not two thousand years later. "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" (verse 4). He understood anothen to mean "again," not "from above"! Nicodemus, a member of the Sanhedrin, was no simpleton; as a scholar and elder among the Jews, he was very conversant with the language that Jesus spoke. And his response was, "How can a man return to his mother's womb?" He knew the context of their conversation demanded "again." Returning to a mother's womb is very earthly. Nicodemus understood Jesus to mean being born again on earth. Jesus never took the conversation out of an earthly realm, but simply contrasted flesh and spirit on earth. Not until verse 12 does Jesus refer to anything beyond the earth, "If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?" By Jesus' own testimony, He was talking about something confined to the earth. He says, ". . . if I tell you heavenly things," not "I have told you"! Thus, the birth He is talking about will take place on earth, not from above. Nicodemus understood it in that context, and in the course of their dialogue, Jesus did not correct him in that regard. John W. Ritenbaugh You Must Be Born Again!

Galatians 4:4  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) Was Jesus Christ born under the law and thus bound to keep all of the Old Covenant rules and regulations? From this verse, some attempt to show that Jesus Christ was under the law from His birth. They conclude that Christ was duty bound from His birth to do many things that we do not have to do. However, this assumption overlooks the true meaning of this verse, which is often obscured by the interpretation given by modern translators. The word translated "born" in modern translations is from the Greek word ginomai, which can have many different shades of meaning depending upon the context. It primarily means "to cause to be" or "to come into being." The King James Version translates it: "But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law." Jesus Christ was physically born through the normal process of human birth to the virgin Mary. But God did not inspire Paul to use the Greek word for "born," gennao, in Galatians 4:4 because He wanted to focus on the miraculous conception of Christ and the overwhelming significance of Jesus' sacrifice. God emphasizes His Son's humanity in this verse. Like all other men, Jesus was born of a woman; He was flesh and blood. Hebrews 10:5 verifies this: "Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: 'Sacrifice and offtering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me.'" Another point of note is that the original Greek text does not read "the law," but simply "law." The definite article is missing! Paul is speaking of law in general, not specifically the law of God. The apostle thus means that, when Jesus became a man, He was subject to the same terms, forces, and conditions that any other man is. It simply becomes another reference to His humanity like Hebrews 2:10-18. The verse does not support the idea that Jesus was bound by the Old Covenant because He was born into it. The deeper meaning of Galatians 4:4 is that Jesus Christ came into being through the divine miracle in which God the Father caused Mary to conceive by the Holy Spirit. Also, by another miracle, God the Father caused Jesus to be placed under the law—under the death penalty—at the time of His crucifixion. Note the King James' rendering of Galatians 3:13: "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made [ginomai] a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree." Jesus Christ was never under the law except at the time of His crucifixion when God the Father laid the entire burden of the sins of the world upon His head (II Corinthians 5:21; Isaiah 53:4-12). He led a perfect life. Therefore, the Old Covenant rules and regulations did not apply to Him because they were designed to remind the people of Israel of their sins and their need for a Savior (Galatians 3:19). Earl L. Henn (1934-1997) Was Jesus Christ Born Under the Law?

Ephesians 2:15  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) God creates the "new man." Paul makes this clear when he tells us that God "create[d] in Himself one new man from the two" (Ephesians 2:15). Writing about reconciliation, he defines these two men in verse 11: physical Israelites (the "Circumcision") and Gentiles (the "Uncircumcision"). Just two chapters later, he reiterates that God created the new man; he commands Christians to "put on the new man which was created according to God, in righteousness and true holiness" (Ephesians 4:24). Finally, this time in his letter to the Colossian and Laodicean Christians, Paul makes the same point; he tells us to "put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of [God] who created him" (Colossians 3:10). Clearly, God creates the new man in His own image. This is an important starting-point in understanding what Paul means by the term new man for two reasons: It strongly argues against the false doctrine that Christians are "born again" when they "accept" Christ. While various denominations hold somewhat different beliefs, a common thread is that the new man, as well as the inward (II Corinthians 4:16) and inner men (Ephesians 3:16), are metaphoric designations for the same thing, a spiritual entity which resides within Christians. This entity, they submit, is an invisible, ethereal, eternal being that is the product of the spiritual birth Christ mentions in John 3:3-8. In short, Protestants believe that the new man is born within Christians at the time they are "born again." A twig this is not! It is a misunderstanding of a major truth in God's Word. It leads those who subscribe to it into one error after another. Notice how Protestant theologians use this misunderstanding to support another lie—that heaven is the reward of the saved. They interpret Christ's statement to Nicodemus that "[N]o man has ascended to heaven" (John 3:13) to mean that no natural man (I Corinthians 2:14) or old man (Romans 6:6) has done so. While they correctly understand these two men to represent the unconverted person, they incorrectly believe Christ was not speaking of the new man. They believe that the new man, whom they confidently proclaim resides within them as a separate spiritual entity, ascends to heaven when they die, there "to be with the Lord." In other words, they understand Christ's words in John 3:13 to refer to the "old man" only. This simply does not square with Paul's teaching. He sees the new man as created, not born. In fact, not even once does he refer to the new man as born—much less "born again"! The Greek verb translated "create" or "created" in Ephesians 2:15; 4:24; and Colossians 3:10 is ktizo, not gennao. Ktizo can mean "to create" (or as a noun, "creator"), "to form," "to make," "to found," or "to fabricate." New Testament writers use ktizo only fourteen times, and never does it refer to or even imply birth or conception. The idea that the new man is born is not consonant with the Scriptures as a whole. However, God's use of ktizo tells us something vital about the new man. The most specific sense of this Greek verb is "to found originally." Ktizo, whose stated or understood subject in Scripture is always God, refers to "the founding of a place, a city or colony" (Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words). Consider this nuance of meaning as it relates to the new man. A newly founded city or colony is almost always small. If it matures, it will be through the continued efforts of its founder and its rank-and-file citizens over many years. The imagery is important: The new man, when first established in us by God, is immature and inexperienced. As we will see later, we have a responsibility to cooperate with God, the new man's founder, to ensure that he grows and matures. The fact that God creates the new man is important for a second reason: It argues that the term new man is synonymous with new creation (KJV, "new creature"). Paul uses this term in Galatians 6:15 and II Corinthians 5:17. Once created in us by God, how does the new man mature and grow? Remember, Paul refers to the new man in Colossians 3:10 as a man "renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him." "Renewed," translated here in the passive voice, comes from the Greek verb anakainoo. It means "to make new" in the sense of "to make different." The new man is different from the old one in that he bears the image of God! Paul uses a similar verb in Ephesians 4:22-23, where he asks that "you . . . be renewed in the spirit of your mind." That Greek verb, ananeoo, again translated in the passive voice, means "to renew" or "to renovate." Through years of living Satan's way of life before conversion, our mind grows corrupt; even the best parts of it become "like filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6). The apostle provides more details about this renewal process in Romans 12:1-2. Here, he uses the same phraseology—the renewal of a person's mind—in a context that makes his meaning crystal clear: "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." The noun "renewing" (anakainosis) is related to the verb anakainoo. Like anakainoo, it carries the sense of renovation to a different, rather than a younger, state. This attests again that the new man is different from the old. Charles Whitaker Choosing the New Man (Part One)

1 John 3:9  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) How do we explain this? We could leave it as it is because I John 1:8 clearly states that we can still sin. In this case, we would understand I John 3:9 as referring to one literally born into God's Kingdom. Another, more accurate understanding is that a Christian, begotten of God, should not practice sin. We have seen that we can still sin, and I John 2:1 says that we "may not sin." "May not" indicates that we do not have permission to sin, but if we do sin, it can be forgiven. The context implies sinful actions, not habitual practices. This dovetails with I John 3:9, where a begotten son of God "does not sin." This is written in the present tense, indicating continuous action. Thus, it becomes an urgent appeal: A Christian must not sin! It means we must not sin habitually, deliberately, easily or maliciously. Translating gennao into "begotten," "sired," etc., gives us a more accurate and deeper understanding of our responsibility to glorify our Father in heaven by following after righteousness. John W. Ritenbaugh You Must Be Born Again!

1 John 5:1  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) As we know from John 3:3-8, we are not yet born of God. So how is this clarified? "Born" is gennao, which includes everything from conception to birth. What synonym fits best here? Fleshly humans are not born of God yet, so we could use "begotten," "engendered," "sired," "fathered," etc. Since it refers to the male part in this operation, "conceived" will not work here. "Everyone who loves Him who begot [the Father] also loves him who is begotten" (same verse). Here we could use "conceived," "fathered," "sired," "engendered," and so forth. John W. Ritenbaugh You Must Be Born Again!

 

XML RSS  feeds available		The Berean: Daily Verse and Comment Sign up for the Berean: Daily Verse and Comment, and have Biblical truth delivered to your inbox. This daily newsletter provides a starting point for personal study, and gives valuable insight into the verses that make up the Word of God. See what over 35,000 subscribers are already receiving each day. Email Address:
We respect your privacy. Your email address will not be sold, distributed, rented, or in any way given out to a third party. We have nothing to sell. You may easily unsubscribe at any time.

Printer-Friendly          E-mail this page